fsu44

Very long, must read article from Pulitzer Prize winning author Taylor Branch slamming the NCAA for its legacy of greed and feigned concern for "student-athletes".

Pretty awesome contest. Win tickets, hotel accommodations, and private jet travel for you and 3 of your friends (or better yet, you, two of your friends, and your favorite Tomahawk Nation editor whose eternal debt you are in for his having brought this contest to your attention) to all 5 BCS bowl games, courtesy of Cooper Tires.

FSU moves up in this latest set of rankings on the strength of its signing class. As our loyal readers know, we have been preaching about smarter scheduling for quite some time. As a supplement to those arguments, this latest ESPN Top 25 includes the following Florida State opponents: UF- No. 10 Oklahoma- No. 11 UNC- No. 18 Miami- No. 23 BYU- No. 25 Clemson, while not ranked, is conspicuously absent. Also, VT is at No. 5 and GT is at No. 24, and the road to the ACC title probably runs through one of these two schools. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. FREE ADMISSION Activities at Fan Day include: 10:30 a.m. - Picnic In The Park - featuring Build your own Fajita Bar 11:00 a.m. - Autograph session with players and coaches in Haggard Plaza 11:00 a.m. - Kids Speed Pitch (throw three balls for $1) 11:00 a.m. - Kids Laps Around the Bases 11:00 a.m. - Kids Play Catch in the Outfield (must bring own ball and glove) 1:00 p.m. - Player stretching/Batting practice 2:30 p.m. - Full team scrimmage

For those of you who are interested in FSU's appeal with the NCAA, the First District Court of Appeals, in an opinion by Judge Padavano, ruled that the redacted versions of the transcript of the October 28, 2008 hearing before the NCAA Committee on Infractions and the Committee's June 2, 2009 response to FSU's appeal are public records, subject to disclosure. In other words, the public at large may actually get to see (for the most part) what the NCAA was discussing when deciding on FSU's punishment. For those of us who secretly wish the NCAA would hurry up and affirm the COI, and in doing so, drive the final nail into the regime change coffin, the saga continues.

Smart Football is just killing it this week. Chris breaks down BYU's passing response to Oklahoma's attempts to bring pressure, complete with play diagram & video.

The Tobacco Free Florida Street Team is giving away prizes, including free tickets to the Miami game, white FSU tshirts great for the USF game, coozies, hats, and other (hella)swag. 6pm tonight (Friday) at Downtown Getdown (Adams Street Commons in Tallahassee).

Tim James, former UM basketball player, 1st round NBA draft pick, enlists to serve America.

Highlights from the last time Miami came up to Doak on Labor Day.

One game, violation of team rules, will serve suspension against Ga Tech. If you recall, there was disucssion about this earlier, and speculation that he might miss the FSU game. Assuming this is the same issue, expect him on the field.

From CBS sportsline article ranking FSU as the 12th best program of this decade. "We probably have not evaluated personnel like we did in those days," Bowden said. "Look at the draft. Where's the Florida State kids in the draft? They ain't in there."